The present invention relates to exercise methods and apparatus and more particularly, to exercise equipment which facilitates exercise through a curved path of motion.
Exercise equipment has been designed to facilitate a variety of exercise motions. For example, treadmills allow a person to walk or run in place; stepper machines allow a person to climb in place; bicycle machines allow a person to pedal in place; and other machines allow a person to skate and/or stride in place. Yet another type of exercise equipment has been designed to facilitate relatively more complicated exercise motions and/or to better simulate real life activity. Such equipment typically uses some sort of linkage assembly to convert a relatively simple motion, such as circular, into a relatively more complex motion, such as elliptical. Some examples of such equipment may be found in United States patents which are disclosed in an Information Disclosure Statement submitted herewith.
Exercise equipment has also been designed to facilitate full body exercise. For example, reciprocating cables or pivoting arm poles have been used on many of the equipment types discussed in the preceding paragraph to facilitate contemporaneous upper body and lower body exercise. Some examples of such equipment may be found in United States patents which are disclosed in an Information Disclosure Statement submitted herewith.
The present invention may be seen to provide a novel linkage assembly and corresponding exercise apparatus suitable for linking circular motion to relatively more complex, generally elliptical motion. On one embodiment, for example, left and right cranks are rotatably mounted on a frame, and left and right crank supports are mounted on respective cranks. Left and right rails are movably interconnected between the frame and respective crank supports in such a manner that first ends of the rails are supported by rollers, and opposite, second ends of the rails are supported by pivot pins. Left and right foot supports are rollably mounted on respective rails, and cables link rotation of the cranks to movement of the foot supports relative to the rails. Generally speaking, the foot supports move through respective elliptical paths having major axes which are twice as long as a crank diameter defined between the crank supports.
In another respect, the present invention may be seen to provide a novel linkage assembly and corresponding exercise apparatus suitable for linking reciprocal motion to relatively more complex, generally elliptical motion. On the foregoing embodiment, for example, left and right handlebars may be pivotally connected to the frame and linked to respective foot supports. For example, a forward end of each foot support may be pivotally connected to a lower end of a respective handlebar, and a rearward end of each foot support may be rollably mounted on a respective rail, so that the handlebars are constrained to pivot back and forth as the foot supports move through respective elliptical paths.
On another embodiment, a roller is rotatably mounted on a crank and disposed between a force receiving member and a support member. Rotation of the crank causes the members to pivot up and down relative to the frame and the foot supporting member to move back and forth relative to the support member. The roller may be provided with a first diameter and/or gear set to engage the force receiving member and a second diameter and/or gear set to engage the support member. Such a linkage may be used to move the force receiving member through a range of motion having a dimension longer than the effective crank diameter.
In yet another respect, the present invention may be seen to provide a novel linkage assembly and corresponding exercise apparatus suitable for adjusting the angle of the generally elliptical path of motion relative to a horizontal surface on which the apparatus rests. On any of the foregoing embodiments, for example, the support member may be pivotally mounted to a first frame member, and/or the force receiving member may be pivotally mounted to a pivoting handle member, either of which may be locked in one of a plurality of positions along a post. An increase in the elevation of the pivot axis, results in a relatively more strenuous, xe2x80x9cuphillxe2x80x9d exercise motion.